Using Linux and Informix to register for conferences is a
reality; it happened at ALS (Atlanta Linux Showcase) last year. I
talked to Tim Costello, the man who made it happen, by e-mail on
January 31. Tim is a Senior Systems Analyst for Conference
Management Systems, LLC. This company specializes in convention
services, e.g., registration, travel and hotel booking, message
centers, booth locators, temporary staffing and related
services.

Margie: Tell me a bit about
yourself.

Tim: I have worked with CMS
since April 1994. I have been in the computer industry since about
1984—before that, it was just a hobby—when I started doing some
Dbase programming and general consulting for a local
company.

When I first started college in 1986, I planned on an EE
degree with a CS minor. In 1992, I graduated with a degree in
Technical Theatre (Lighting and Sound Design) with a CS minor.
After college, I worked as a consultant Monday through Thursday and
did lighting for local events most Fridays through Sundays. Then in
late 1993, I got a call from a friend who was touring with Disney's
“Beauty and the Beast on Ice” in Europe. They needed an
electrician ASAP, so for the next six months I toured Europe with
Disney. At the end of the tour, I received a job offer from CMS, a
consulting client of mine. So the day after I flew back from
Barcelona, I was at work at CMS buying equipment for one of our
early shows.

Margie: How long have you
been involved in the Linux community?

Tim: I first started using
Linux early in my tenure at CMS, so I would guess late 1994. I
haven't contributed any programming to the community, but I answer
questions in the newsgroups whenever I can and submit as many bug
reports as possible.

Margie: How did you come to
be taking care of ALS registration? Do you belong to ALE?

Tim: We submitted a proposal
for registration services in response to a request from ALS. One
stipulation in the Request For Proposal from ALS was the use of
open-source software, which we were already using—we were a
perfect fit. No, I am not part of ALE; CMS is based in Park Ridge,
IL.

Margie: Have you done
registration of shows before?

Tim: Convention registration
is a core business for us. We do registration for several hundred
shows a year, ranging from small corporate meetings to ones with
over 20,000 attendees.

Margie: How did you come to
pick Informix as your database of choice? How did the combination
of Linux/Informix work for you? Have you used other systems to take
care of registrations? How did Linux compare?

Tim: I'll answer all these
questions in a group. When we first started doing registration, we
used HP9000s/HP-UX and Informix—all purchased prior to my coming
on board. During this time, I was using a Linux box as my office
desktop and was the system administrator for both systems. As time
went by, whenever we needed a new server, I would use a Linux box;
e.g., our dial-in/fax server is a Linux box using
mgetty-sendfax. Until Informix
came around and ported to Linux, I was stuck with the HP9Ks. I was
involved in the lobbying effort (I signed the e-petitions) to get
Informix to port to Linux, and as soon as it was available as a
public beta, I started testing with it. I find the Linux boxes
easier to administer than the HPs, and on a price/performance
curve, I find them much more attractive.

Margie: Would you have
preferred to use some other system?

Tim: No. We began a move to
SCO UNIX as a stop-gap when Informix was still publicly undecided
about a port. Those systems were wiped and moved to Linux as soon
as possible.

Margie: What do you feel are
the main advantages to using Linux/Informix over other
systems?

Tim: Ease of system
administration and availability of assistance.

Margie: Drawbacks?

Tim: Commercial software
availability, or the lack thereof. One of the other services we
offer for conventions is a voice-messaging system, using Dialogic
voice cards. I am currently forced to use Windows and Visual Basic
to access them, and until a month or so ago, there seemed to be no
hope unless I switched vendors—something I may still do, but I
hate to waste my existing investment. However, when Intel recently
acquired Dialogic, they announced they would support Linux!

Margie: Do you use
Linux/Informix in other business situations? If so, tell us about
them.

Other open-source systems in use at our location are Python,
PHP3 and Perl, among others. We use Red Hat and Linux-Mandrake on
our servers, with some updates/patches.

Margie: What did you think
about the ALS event itself?

Tim: I enjoyed every minute
of it! Next year, we plan on additional people from our staff going
to the show, so we can trade off working at registration. There
were several sessions I would have liked to attend, but missed due
to my duties at registration.